1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a document editing apparatus used for editing work in which plural users are involved in edition of plural electronic documents, and more particularly relates to a common document editing apparatus that is capable of reflecting the edition content on the common document based on the exclusive edition right even in the case where the state in which the exclusive edition right for exclusively editing a common document is given to a certain user is canceled forcibly.
2. Description of the Related Art
The common document edition apparatus has been known as the apparatus used for the edition work in which a document is prepared from electronic data and the document is edited by plural users (workers).
A common document editing apparatus as described hereinabove is provided with, for example, a client server system. A common document managed by a server apparatus is edited by plural users who operate their client apparatuses.
In the case of such common document editing apparatus, when plural users simultaneously edit the same common document (the term xe2x80x9cdocumentsxe2x80x9d includes the page unit document in the present specification), the conformity of the description content of the common document is destroyed. To avoid such a problem, the exclusive edition control for allowing only the user to whom the exclusive edition right is given to edit the common document corresponding to the right is employed.
A common document editing apparatus provided with a client apparatus used for editing by means of user operation and an exclusive edition control server apparatus is exemplified for description.
First, when a client apparatus A starts exclusive edition to edit a common document as shown in FIG. 3A, the client apparatus A requests acquisition of an exclusive edition right to a server apparatus. If an exclusive edition right of the common document specified in the request has not already been acquired by another client apparatus, the server apparatus locks the common document to prohibit edition by another user and issues the exclusive edition right A of the requested common document as shown in FIG. 3B. When the exclusive edition right A is issued, a common document name to which the exclusive edition right A has been issued and a lock ID for specifying the exclusive edition right A are recorded in the server apparatus (lock information storing unit) as lock information A.
The lock ID is a unique ID in the server apparatus, and the lock ID is transmitted to the client apparatus together with the exclusive edition right A and the specified common document for editing.
The user to whom the exclusive edition right has been given edits the common document and stores (write) the edited common document in the server apparatus. Thereby, the edition content is reflected on the common document.
At that time, the lock information of the exclusive edition right given together with the edition content is transmitted to the server apparatus, and after the server apparatus identifies the lock information transmitted from the client apparatus as the lock information A stored in the lock information storing unit of the server apparatus, the server apparatus stores the edition content.
After completion of edition work as described hereinabove, the client apparatus cancels the exclusive edition right and the lock of the common document is unlocked on the server apparatus. The client apparatus transmits the lock information to the server apparatus together with the end information of the exclusive edition. The server apparatus deletes the lock information from the lock information storing unit, and becomes ready for receiving a new exclusive edition right acquisition request on the common document.
In the exclusive edition control as described hereinabove, for example, if the lock on the server apparatus remains unlocked due to hung-up of the client apparatus, the common document cannot be edited afterward.
To avoid such a problem, a mechanism to unlock the lock of the common document forcibly is provided, and if the lock of the common document remains unlocked continuously though the client apparatus to which an exclusive edition right A has been given has finished the edition, as shown in FIG. 4A, the mechanism deletes the lock information A stored in the server apparatus when another client apparatus B requests an exclusive edition right deletion request on the common document, and the client apparatus becomes thereby ready for receiving a new exclusive edition right acquisition request.
However, in the case of such a conventional document editing apparatus in which an issued exclusive edition right is canceled forcibly as described hereinabove, another user (client apparatus B) could unlock the lock with inattention while the user (client A) to whom the exclusive edition right has been given is editing as shown in FIG. 4B. Unlocking of the lock on the server apparatus during the edition as described hereinabove results in the situation where the edition content cannot be written and returned to the server apparatus and cannot be reflected on the common document because the corresponding lock information A stored in the server apparatus has already been deleted though the lock information A given to the client apparatus A together with the edition content is transmitted to the server apparatus. As the result, the conformity of the common document is involved in a trouble.
The present invention has been accomplished to solve the above-mentioned problem, and provides a common document editing apparatus that is capable of reflecting the edition content based on the exclusive edition right on the common document within a range without hindrance even though the exclusive edition right is canceled forcibly to thereby maintain the conformity of the common document.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a common document editing apparatus that is suitable for a system used for cooperatively editing a common document by means of a client server system.
A document editing apparatus in accordance with the present invention controls exclusive edition of a common document as described hereunder.
First, when the exclusive edition right of the common document stored in a document storing unit is requested by a user, a lock information managing unit issues the exclusive edition right for permitting exclusive edition of the common document in response to the request by the user, and stores lock information for specifying the exclusive edition right issued to the lock information storing unit and the document that is the target of the exclusive edition right.
When the user to whom the exclusive edition right has been given enters the edition content together with the lock information, the lock information managing unit checks the identification with the lock information stored in the lock information storing unit, and overwrites only with the document edited according to the identical exclusive edition right in the document storing unit to thereby allow only the user having the exclusive edition right to edit the common document.
The document editing apparatus in accordance with the present invention functions to forcibly cancel the exclusive edition right as shown hereunder.
The document editing apparatus in accordance with the present invention is provided with an unlocked lock information storing unit for storing the lock information separately from the lock information storing unit. The lock information managing unit functions to cancel the issued exclusive edition right forcibly, transfers the lock information of the exclusive edition right cancelled forcibly when the forcible cancellation is executed to the unlocked lock information storing unit and stores it therein temporarily, and performs overwriting with the edition document to store it in the document storing unit when the document has been edited according to the exclusive edition right, which is identical with the lock information, transferred to the unlocked lock information storing unit is requested to be stored before a new exclusive edition right of the same document is requested.
Even though the lock is unlocked with inattention by another user while the former user to whom the exclusive edition has been given is editing, the former user is allowed to reflect the edition content on the common document because the former user to whom the exclusive edition right has been given can reflect the edition content on the common document without any trouble as long as the former user reflects the edition content before another user acquires the exclusive edition right of the same document. As described hereinabove, the conformity of the common document is maintained.
The document editing apparatus in accordance with the present invention is preferably applied to a system for cooperatively editing the common document by use of a client server system provided with a client apparatus and a server apparatus connected to each other by way of a communication line. The server apparatus is provided with a document storing unit, a lock information managing unit, a lock information storing unit, and an unlocked lock information storing unit, and the client is provided with a document editing unit for issuing the exclusive edition right request that specifies the common document and for editing the common document supplied from the server apparatus.